Sponichi mentions that Ryosuke Miyaguni, Kentaro Nishimura, and Dicky Gonzalez are competing for the sixth spot in the starting rotation. Miyaguni could get two more starts: March 4 vs Seibu and March 11 vs Hanshin.

The first five spots will likely go to Tetsuya Utsumi, Toshiya Sugiuchi, Hirokazu Sawamura, D.J. Houlton, and Shun Tono.